Divided cities in peace meet (Londonderry Sentinel)

TWELVE cities – formerly riven by conflict and communal violence – sent representatives to Londonderry this week to take part in the second annual conference of the Forum for Cities in Transition (FCT).

Belfast, Beirut, Kirkuk, Kaduna, Nicosia, Jerusalem, Haifa, Mitte, Mitrovicë/Kosovska Mitrovica, Mostar, Nicosia, and Ramallah were all represented at the Forum which works on the principle that cities that are in conflict or have emerged from conflict are in the best position to help other cities in the same situation.

The forum was established by Irish native, Professor Padraig O’Malley at the University of Massachusetts Boston in April 2009.

At this year’s conference the Northern Ireland Peace Process takes centre stage and senior negotiatiors from all sides of the conflict have been sharing with their international audience how they concluded that violence would only perpetuate killing.